Giratina and the Sky Bouquet: Hurricane
by skytroops
Summary: You'd think that the Gratitude Pokémon would be, uhm, the grateful sort. AU Novelization of Giratina and the Sky Bouquet/Sky Warrior. Different Path AU. Chapters 1 - 3 will be reworked.
1. Letz Get This Party Started

Skye Hunter had no idea where Satoshi went off to. One moment, he was excitedly leaning over the fencing to gaze out at the ocean, then he was gone the next. Satoshi ran off to do Satoshi things all the time, so as long as he came back safe and sound, Skye didn't care.

Okay, he cared a lot, he hated it when Satoshi disappeared without warning. He was the guy that attracted trouble, so running around wasn't a good idea in the breeder's eyes. Thankfully, Satoshi always had his Pikachu with him, so hopefully, he would keep his trainer in check. Then again, Satoshi could have ran away to avoid having to help prepare lunch. Skye wouldn't put it past him if he was going to be honest.

Shigeru Okido was standing at the stove they had rented, making hotcakes for their lunch. Skye couldn't help the smirk that grew on his face as he spied the pink apron the taller brunet was wearing. He and Satoshi had gotten it for Shigeru as a joke, but Shigeru thought the best response to give them was to wear it whenever he cooked.

 _Can't let a_ lovely _gift go to waste,_ he had told them after they saw him wearing it for the first time.

In an attempt to help make lunch, Skye had been given the task of tossing salad. Sure, Shigeru's Blacky could have done it, but he was going to do something, darnit! He actually wanted to make a hotcake for himself, but when he tried to do that, the stove nearly caught on fire.

A trio of shadows quickly zoomed past his line of sight. Skye tilted his head back to look skyward at the flying Pokémon overhead. Among the odd Comome, Bara, his Bohmander, chased after Satoshi's Lizardon and Mukubird in a game of tag.

The three of them had released all of their Pokémon so that they could get some fresh air while they prepared lunch. In the large sandpit to his far left, Shigeru's Tatetops was taking runs at Platinum, Skye's Bangiras', stomach, practising their Headbutt.

Close by, Skye's Pikachu, Pika, Shigeru's Blacky, and Satoshi's Fushigibana were placing down bowls along the outside of the sandpit for themselves and their fellow Pokémon. Skye had already prepared their food the night before.

As Skye returned to tossing the salad, his own Blacky padded up to him with plates and cutlery in his psychokinesis.

"Good boy, Moon." He praised, getting a smile in return. "Cin yae put aw dat oon da table fur me?" He pointed at the seats where he, Satoshi, and Shigeru were going to be seated. "Ah'm der, Satoshi's der, 'n Shigeru is sittin' ova here."

"Blacky!" The blue-ringed Blacky carefully put the three plates down first, then sat a fork and knife on top.

Shigeru looked up from the stove after flipping a hotcake over as Moon padded away. "Can you do, uhh, _the thing_ to get Satoshi back here? I'm nearly done with the batter, so-" he gestured at Skye with the spatula. "please do it."

Skye looked out towards the stone stairs where he last saw their friend, then back at Shigeru. "Yae sure?"

The _thing_ was a kind of shout that Skye had created by accident during his and Satoshi's time in Hoenn. Skye had been used to having others around whenever Satoshi ran off, but in Hoenn, it had only been him and Satoshi, so. . .he panicked and started screaming for him to come back. It worked, and it evolved into a call. Somehow, it always managed to echo, no matter where they were.

"Yes," he answered, covering his ears with his hands. "do it. Brace yourselves, everybody!"

The older brunet set down his wooden cutlery, twirled around, and walked up to the fencing in the direction he assumed Satoshi was. He stood with his feet apart, puffed out his chest, straightened his shoulders, cupped his hands around his mouth, took in a very deep breath, and bellowed, "OI, SATOSHI!" at the top of his lungs.

The extremely loud shout caused Satoshi and Shigeru's Kamex to pop their heads out of the water in alarm as many perched Comome scrambled to fly away. They stared wide-eyed as he waved for them to come out.

Then, somewhere in the distance, there was a shout that confirmed that Satoshi had heard him.

Skye turned back to see Shigeru giving him a baffled expression as he placed a newly made hotcake with the others he had already prepared. ". . .how _do_ you do that?"

The breeder threw him a smug look. "Talent."

"Ugh, don't." The trainer groaned.

Skye snorted a laugh. He decided that the salad was tossed good enough and trotted over to the small fountain to wash his hands. Pika appeared beside him, leaning over the grate to wash her brown forepaws.

On the patch of grass close by, Shigeru's Windie and Rentoroar woke up from their dozing. In the tree beside them, his Gamale, Baggu, and Satoshi's Glion left the tree branch they had perched on to fly to the sandpit.

The sound of running footsteps brought Skye's attention to the stairs to see Satoshi shooting up them with Pikachu following close behind. He ran around the fountain, skidded to a hault, and started to drink from the top faucet. Pikachu jumped up to do the same.

"Careful-!" Skye squeaked. "Did yae see yir Kamex? Ah shouted fur 'em tae git up here fur der lunch."

"Yeah!" Satoshi wiped his mouth. "They were getting out of the water, so I think they're coming." As if on cue, the two large turtle-like Pokémon slowly sauntered up the stairs.

"Good timing, Satoshi. I just finished the batter." Shigeru placed the last hotcake onto the pile as Satoshi excitedly sat himself down at the picnic table.

The trainer almost looked ready to start drooling as he tore off his gloves and picked up his fork. "Thanks for the-" he reached out to take one of the hotcakes, only to be blocked by a pan.

"Hold it, did you wash your hands?" Shigeru asked in a voice that reminded Skye of his mother.

Satoshi stared at him, then nervously brought up his hands with a smile. "They're clean, see?"

From Shigeru's appalled reaction, they were far from clean. Satoshi turned his hands around to look at them and his lip quivered. Pikachu sighed.

Skye pressed his lips together to hold in a giggle as he left Pika to clean her paws to approach the table.

"Hurry up and get them washed," Shigeru told him, taking off his pink apron.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." The youngest of them whined, getting up to do just that. As he passed Skye, the brunet flicked water at him, making him flinch. "H-hey-!"

"How auld ir yae again? Ten?" Skye teased, getting a playful shove in response. One of the Kamex, most likely Satoshi's, started to snicker under his breath.

Skye looked at the table, feeling satisfied at what they assembled. It was the best looking lunch they've had in well over a fortnight.

They had gotten pointed towards this town after they aimlessly wandered around in the Sinnoh wilderness. Skye wished he could have spoken up to thank the trainer with the Elekible that Satoshi battled against that morning for pointing them in the town's direction.

Baggu fluttered over to his trainer, holding a bowl in his legs, reminding Skye to start bringing out the Pokémon's lunch. He loudly clapped to get everymon's attention. "Aw right, everywan! Start movin', it's lunch time!" Several happy voices rang out.

With Shigeru and Satoshi's help, Skye distributed the Pokéfood among all of their Pokémon.

As they watched their Pokémon tuck into their lunches, Satoshi brought his hands up to his stomach and quipped. "Watching them is making me hungry."

Shigeru rolled his eyes while Skye lightly shook his head. He smiled to himself as he saw Pika and Pikachu sitting next to each other, happily eating.

"All right, let's ea- huh?"

Hearing Satoshi cut himself off, Skye turned around. He was about to ask what the matter was, but the question died on his tongue. He saw spotted what silenced his friend. On their picnic table, there was a small Pokémon digging into their hotcakes.

Skye was surprised to see a Pokémon be so brazen. Pokémon weren't usually this happy to get so close to strangers, especially humans, but here they were. Were Shigeru's hotcakes really that tempting? He could almost laugh at that, but he knew he could be lying if he said that he hadn't been looking forward to eating one of them.

Although, as the three of them stepped up to the table, there was something about the little hotcake eater that seemed familiar, but he couldn't put his finger to why. The Pokémon was tiny, smaller than any of their Pokémon, and was caked in dirt.

"Our hotcakes!" Satoshi exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"

From behind them, Pikachu, Pika, and Blacky had left their bowls behind to approach the table also. Pikachu jumped up onto the tabletop, while Pika hopped onto one of the stump-like seats, and Blacky stood beside her.

Pikachu tilted his head to the side, confused. Pika stood up, leaning forward to grip the edge of the table. She squeaked something that sounded like a question towards the Pokémon, but she was ignored. The Pokémon continued on eating greedily.

Skye's eyebrow twitched. How rude.

Pika tried to speak again, but the dirt-covered Pokémon suddenly shook out their fur, creating a very large dust cloud. Everyone was quickly caught up in it, causing them to choke splutter. They waved their arms in attempt to make the cloud disperse. Skye assumed that the Pokémon had stirred up a defensive Sandstorm, but he couldn't feel sand blow against his skin.

In the dust cloud, Skye heard Pikachu letting out a grunt, and Satoshi yell and stumble backwards. The cloud had faded enough for Skye to see that the Pokémon had jumped onto Satoshi's face, gripping onto the lip of his hat.

Satoshi moved around like a Kentauros trying to buck a rider off their back until he threw his head a certain way, causing the Pokémon to lose their grip and fly into the stove. Shigeru grabbed the pan from the hob before the stove crashed to the ground, taking the Pokémon down with it.

The stove's broken hob sparked and thick smoke suddenly blasted out of it. Again, the group waved their arms, but the fumes started to disappear, seemingly into the Pokémon. Skye blinked.

They watched the small Pokémon start to glow, letting out a shrill cry as the light engulfed them. The air around him started to buzz with energy, causing Skye's stomach to drop. He realized that the Pokémon was quickly building up energy, and was preparing to release it.

He twirled around, snatching Pika up off the seat before letting out a yell. "Hit da deck!" The compressed energy released as he jumped away, the explosion throwing him several feet. He curled around his Pikachu, just barely managing to fall onto his side in time.

He hissed in pain, his heart in his mouth and his ears ringing. He was shocked at the sheer amount of power the blast had behind it. Whatever this Pokémon was, they were very powerful, despite their small size.

Pika wriggled out of his arms when he slowly regained his bearings. She placed a paw on his arm, her eyes filled with concern. He had fallen hard onto his right side, but it wasn't anything he couldn't shake off. He coughed, sitting up to see the fallout.

Satoshi had been blown up onto the table, and Pikachu had somehow gotten the bowl of salad on his head. Shigeru was out of sight on the other side of the table, and Blacky looked unfazed by it all as they tried to inspect their trainer from under the table.

Skye looked out towards their Pokémon. Most of them had started to recover from the attack, with the larger Pokémon already standing. They were tense as they stared at the unknown Pokémon.

"Is everyone all right?" Skye heard Shigeru groan out. Him and Satoshi replied with grunts of their own.

Shakily brushing off the dirt from his shirt and giving Pika a reassuring pet, Skye watched the little dirty Pokémon make an attempt to skitter away. They didn't make it far as they were quickly confronted by several of the group's Pokémon. They looked more than a little upset over their lunch being disrupted.

The Pokémon started to back away, the others advancing on them. They shook and made a frightened noise. Skye frowned, displeased by their Pokémon's behaviour. Ganging up one such a small monster, even if it was powerful, was a big no-no in his books.

The Pokémon clearly didn't wish to fight, so they must have reacted that way to protect themselves. Skye couldn't hold that against them, especially seeing that they meant no actual harm.

He used the table as a support to get onto his feet before stomping over. "Oi, chuck it!" He yelled, purposely putting himself in between his and his friend's Pokémon, and the dust ball. They lost their scowls as he glared at them before slowly knelling down in front of the shaking Pokémon.

Now that he was closer, the nagging feeling that he recognised this monster from somewhere was stronger than before.

The flowers on the side of their head reminded him of a flower that he was fond of, but he never was an expert on flora, so he wasn't sure if the flowers were the type he was thinking of.

"Be careful!" Shigeru warned him. "We don't know how dangerous that Pokémon is!"

Skye glanced over his shoulder, seeing Satoshi and Shigeru standing some metres away, watching him warily. He gestured with his hand, hoping to sway their fears. He would be fine. If the Pokémon decided to lash out again, he wouldn't be short on protection.

The dirty Pokémon shrunk back as he reached out to pick them up. "It's aw right," he cooed. "we're no gonnae hurt yae." He heard Bara, Platinum, and Lizardon grumble amongst themselves. He shot them a hard look. They turned away, not meeting his angry gaze.

The Pokémon looked unsure when he turned back to look at them. He smiled a little. He had seen that look on many, many other Pokémon's faces in his years as a Breeder. It was a look that he could greatly sympathize with. Being scared of new faces wasn't lost on him.

With a trained gentleness, he carefully lifted the small Pokémon and stood up. He eyed the fountain, deciding to give the Pokémon a needed wash. Cradling the dirty Pokémon to him, he walked over to the fountain. Satoshi, and Shigeru, along with all of their Pokémon, closely followed behind him.

Skye placed the Pokémon onto the grate, to which they looked up at him with worry in their little green eyes. "Close yir eyes, wee yin." He said, keeping his tone low and gentle. "Let's git yae washed." He turned the knob, letting the cool water run over the Pokémon.

He started to run his fingers through their fur, taking note that it was spiky and somewhat hard to the touch, like the bristles on a soft hair brush. He continued, feeling the fur along their sides and face. That fur was short and soft in comparison to the fur on their back, and the flowers felt delicate to the touch. His fingers worked against the dirt to reveal green, white, yellow, and pastel pink underneath.

Skye's eyes widened as memories of an old storybook flooded his mind. It had been a book he had as a child, one of many that his father would read to him before bed. On the cover of this certain book, however, was this Pokémon! A Pokémon that was called-!

"S-shaymin!" He blurted out.

"What?" Satoshi asked, leaning down to hear Skye's response.

"U-uh, towel!" The breeder answered, flustered all of a sudden. "Cin somewan git me a towel, p-please!" Pika nodded, taking up the task, quickly padding away to fetch one from his bags.

With the dirt washed away, Skye turned off the faucet. Pika returned with a light blue hand towel on her back, held there by her tail.

As he turned to take the towel, Shaymin stretched out their back and shook out their fur, much like before, showering him, and Pika, in cold water droplets. Satoshi and Shigeru had been fortunate enough to be able to step back to avoid most of the droplets.

Skye blinked the water out of his eyes, taking the towel and wrapping Shaymin in it. He started to rub them through it to dry the fur and warm them up after being doused in chilly water.

"Der we go, nice 'n clean." He sighed, standing up. Satoshi and Shigeru closed in, now curious about the Pokémon happily wrapped in their friend's arms. Satoshi gave him a worried look, to which Skye smirked at, as Shaymin leaned into his comforting motions with a smile.

Satoshi gave him a relieved grin, to which Skye answered with a smirk as Shaymin leaned into his comforting motions, smiling all the while.

 _See?_ He said silently. _Ah'm aw right. A wee bit wet, but aw right._

"That felt good," a small, squeaky voice said between them. "but it was a bit cold."

Skye gazed downward, the smirk changing into an apologetic smile, oblivious to the exact origin of the voice. "Sorry 'boot dat. Ah shouldeh warned yae fir-" Wait.

He snapped his head up to meet eyes with Satoshi and Shigeru, who returned his surprised expression. Even though those expressions should have answered his unspoken question, he dumbly asked. "Uhh, guys. Y-yae heard dat, right. . ?"

"Sure did," Satoshi nodded.

"Yeah," Shigeru added. "that must've been telepathy."

Together, they looked back down at Shaymin. The little Pokémon simply stared back at them blankly, as if a Pokémon that could speak was an everyday occurrence.

Though, there was a part of him that supposed that they shouldn't be too shocked by Shaymin's ability to speak. It wasn't like they hadn't met other Pokémon that could do the same in the past, but none of them had been your average Pocket Monster either.

Satoshi was first to speak up. ". . .where did you come from? Why were you so dirty?"

"There." Shaymin sniffled, shifting their paws against the towel. Did this Pokémon have an attitude?

Satoshi frowned, an irritated wrinkle appearing between his eyebrows. "I don't know what you mean by 'there'."

"There is there." Shaymin said, as if the answer was very obvious. Yes, they do have an attitude. Ignoring Pika hadn't been a one off thing.

"I said, I don't know where 'there' is." The trainer replied, beginning to sound annoyed at Shaymin's curt answers.

Shaymin paused, then rested their head on their paws with their face starting to turn a shade of warm pink. "There is there is there are there is there-ere. . ." they trailed off into ineligible murmurers.

"That's strange," Shigeru commented.

Not understanding the sudden decline in energy, Skye gingerly placed a hand onto the Pokémon's forehead to find that they were burning up.

"D-dey've goat a fevuh!" He cried out, fear gripping him. "W-we hiv tae git dem tae da Pokémon Centre!"

"Yeah, let's go!" Satoshi agreed, fumbling around to grab the Pokéballs off his belt. He quickly returned his Pokémon one by one, then let Skye carefully hand over Shaymin to him so that he could do the same for his own.


	2. Can't Stop, So What!

Skye sat in the waiting room, nervously running his fingers along Pika's head and back as she lay on his lap. He eyed the door that led to where the resident Nurse Joy and Lucky had took Shaymin to be examined.

They had gotten to the Pokémon Centre in record time, thanks to Shigeru's Windie. All of their Pokémon were back in their Pokéballs, apart from Pikachu and Pika. He had brought out Pika to help himself calm down. He shifted anxiously in his seat on the hard bench, glancing at the two trainers with him.

Satoshi was pacing around the room, looking at the same door every odd turn or so. He hadn't been able to stay still since they had gotten to the Pokémon Centre less than a half hour before. He had tried to sit on the bench at the breeder's urging, but he quickly got too fidgety. Pikachu was perched on his shoulder, looking worried.

Shigeru was sitting a seat space away from Skye, staring into space with a faint frown on his face. Skye knew what he was thinking about, as if the constant side glances in his direction weren't giving it away already. He wanted to know why he recognised Shaymin.

The way Shigeru eyed him made his gut twist with unease. He knew Satoshi wanted an answer too, but at least he wasn't eye-balling him and making him feel like a suspect in a crime.

He would have given them the answer sooner, but he had been too busy trying to keep his anxiety from overflowing to do it. Now, his anxiety had been tempered and he was ready to answer.

"Aw right," Skye drawled with a loud sigh, slumping in his seat. Shigeru perked up and Satoshi stopped pacing to look at him. "ah dunno aw dat much aboot 'em."

"Still, you know more about that Pokémon than Satoshi and I." Shigeru said calmly, leaning his weight onto the arm rest with his elbow. "Where did you learn about. . ." he paused to recall the Pokémon's name.

"Shaymin," Satoshi finished, getting a thankful nod from Shigeru.

Skye shrugged, feeling Pika curl against his stomach. "Der wiz a book ah used tae hiv when ah wiz wee. Cannae remember da name eh it noo, but it wiz aboot a Shaymin. Dat's how ah know der name."

"Anything else?" Shigeru asked.

Skye pursed his lower lip slightly and shook his head. "Naw, jist der name 'n dat's aboot it."

"I'll check the Pokémon Zukan if it's got anything," Satoshi said, digging into his pocket to bring it out. He fiddled with it until it bleeped. "No data. . ." he disappointedly muttered, shoving it back into his pocket.

Shigeru grew pensive, crossing one leg over the other. "If the Zukan doesn't have anything, this means one of two things. Shaymin are a species not native to Sinnoh or they are so rare, they hasn't been enough information on them to input them into the Pokémon Zukan."

"Wit if. . ." Skye's face hardened as he sat back upright. "wit if Shaymin isnae in da Zukan becuz der a Legendary Pokémon?" His question took the two Masara Town natives by surprise. Even Pika had lifted her head to gawk at him.

"A-ah mean, we aw heard Shaymin talk, right?" He asked in a rush, focusing on Satoshi. "Wit did aw da uhduh Pokémon we've met dat could use telepathy aw hid 'n common?"

"They were all Legendary Pokémon," Satoshi breathed, giving Skye the hope that he was catching on. "apart from Lucario."

The corners of Skye's mouth twitched. "Aye, ah dunno if Shaymin cin use Wave like he could." He tilted his head. "Unless yae felt-"

"I can't sense Wave like Lucario could, even if I tried." Satoshi said in an almost sad voice.

The brunet huffed, tilting his head back to lean it against the wall behind him. He didn't need to look at Shigeru to know he was patiently watching them. Shigeru hadn't been at Rota, but he knew the story of what had transpired.

". . .we've nevuh met any _normal_ Pokémon dat wir telepathic, so it cannae be dat big eh a stretch tae say Shaymin might be wan tae."

"Shaymin might be small, but whatever that attack was earlier, it had enough power behind it to blast Fushigibana, and Platinum off their feet." Shigeru mused, with a low hum. "You could be right, Skye, but we can't really know for sure."

"You know, we could just ask them if they're a Legendary Pokémon or not." Satoshi pointed out.

Before either brunet could respond, the door creaked open and Nurse Joy peeked out from behind it. Her blue eyes were bright behind her red winged glasses. "You can all come in now."

Skye wrapped his arms around Pika and picked up his bag as he, and Shigeru jumped out of their seats to stand with Satoshi. "Ir dey aw right?"

Rather than answer him, Nurse Joy pushed the door open completely to let the three of them inside. Skye awkwardly nodded to her in thanks as they walked past her and into the examination room.

The Centre's Lucky moved away from a human-sized bed, drawing Skye's eyes towards it. Shaymin lay sleeping in the middle of it, looking puny, but much more healthier.

"This little one was very exhausted." Nurse Joy explained gently, stepping over to seat herself at a computer, the screen covered in medical information that mostly went over Skye's head. "Since you three were the ones who brought them here, do you know what happened to them to get into such a condition?"

"No, we don't." Shigeru answered with a shake of his head. "This Shaymin appeared out of nowhere, covered from head to toe in dirt. We actually found them eating our lunch after our backs had turned."

"It's good to know they've eaten something, oh! So, you know about them, Shaymin, I mean." Her tone of voice hadn't changed, but Skye and Satoshi shared an uncertain look. Were they not supposed to know?

"Not much, ma'am." The tall brunet replied coolly. "Can you tell us about them?"

"Of course!" Nurse Joy smiled. "Shaymin are the Gratitude Pokémon, they are Grass type Pokémon, and are very secretive in nature. It's very rare to encounter one, so consider yourselves lucky!"

She turned her attention to her computer to read through what Skye assumed to be some sort of test results. "And they're a lot better now. It looks like you got them here just in time."

On the bed, Shaymin stirred, opening their eyes to look around. "W-where is this place?" They asked meekly, their green eyes darting about.

Placing Pika onto the bed beside Shaymin, Skye leaned down to answer them. "Yir in da Pokémon Centre."

The Grass type Pokémon squinted their eyes at him. "What's a Pokémon Centre?"

"It's a place where yae take yir Pokémon tae git some rest 'r hiv Nurse Joy-" he gestured towards the woman in the chair behind him. "heal dem 'n she healed you."

"You talk funny," they said bluntly. "and I didn't need healing. I could have done it all by myself." They brought their hindleg up to quickly scratch behind one of their flowers. "I'm hungry."

 _Well den._ Skye knew his accent made him sound 'funny' to most, even to a point that many people are unable to understand him, but he wasn't really used to having it told to him so upfront.

Satoshi's face soured as he put his hands on his hips. "They don't seem the least bit grateful for being the 'Gratitude' Pokémon." He seemed annoyed for Skye.

The breeder had gotten used to Pokémon who didn't fit the bill of their species. He has known many Dragon types who were gentle, Dark types who were cheerful, and Electric types who were lazy. So, the supposed Gratitude Pokémon not being the grateful type didn't shock him. Actually, the concept of a cute little Pokémon having an attitude amused him.

"But, it sounds like they have an appetite." Shigeru noted. "Skye, don't you always carry some poffins as treats for your Pokémon? Maybe they'll like them."

"Dat's a good idea," Skye agreed. He placed his bag down, unzipping one of the many compartments to bring out a small tupperware tub filled with golden brown poffins inside.

"Can't believe they're still hungry after eating _our_ lunch for us. . ." he heard Satoshi grumble to Pikachu.

Skye bumped him with his hip when he stood back up, making the trainer stumble. "Don't mind Satoshi. He's jist cranky becuz he didnae git tae eat his lunch earlier." He cast a glance at the shorter male. Satoshi pouted at him as he pried the tub open.

"I guess we should introduce ourselves since we didn't have a chance to before." Shigeru butted in with a short huff. "I'm Shigeru."

"Ah'm Skye," Skye took out one of the poffins and held it out for Shaymin to inspect. "'n da Pikachu next tae yae is ma Pika."

"Pi-pikachu." Pika chimed, bowing her head in greeting.

The small Pokémon sniffed at the confectionery before taking it into their mouth to eat.

Satoshi bent down to be at eye-level with Shaymin to introduce himself. "I'm Satoshi," he pointed to the Pokémon on his shoulder with his thumb. "and this is my partner, Pikachu."

"Pika!"

Shaymin finished the poffin, and gave Satoshi a grin before their face contorted abruptly. They let out a loud burp, releasing a big puff of black smoke out of their mouth. Right into Satoshi's face.

Satoshi shot up, coughing at the smoke as the three of them took a huge step back. "Whoa, you're not going to explode again, are you?" He yelped, bringing an arm out in front of Skye.

"Explode?" Nurse Joy queried.

Still tense from the scare, Shigeru turned his head to answer her. "Our stove broke and they absorbed all the smoke from it, then suddenly. . ."

"Ah, that would have been Seed Flare." She said matter-of-factly, drawing Skye and Satoshi's eyes to her.

"Seed Flare?" Satoshi echoed, slowly lowering his arm.

Nurse Joy went back to look at her computer to type something into it. On screen, a model of a Shaymin popped up, showing the three how Shaymin performed Seed Flare as she explained. "Shaymin can suck in polluted air, purify it in their body, break it down into water and light, and release it as an attack. That's Seed Flare."

"S-so, Seed Flare is a good 'hing?" Skye asked hesitantly, an awkward smile appearing on his lips. He was impressed that such a Pokémon could filter pollution and use it for their benefit. They must be perfect for fighting against Poison types. "Dat's really cool, Shaymin."

"Yes, I am amazing." Shaymin said nonchalantly.

Skye glanced over his shoulder, spotting Shaymin stretch. "Dat's no wit ah said. . ." Beside him, Satoshi pulled a face.

"But," Nurse Joy got his attention back with the seriousness in her voice. "there are records of a Shaymin that absorbed poison gas-" she brought up a picture from some news site of numerous flattened trees. "and blew down an entire forest with Seed Flare."

Skye's jaw nearly hit the floor. A whole forest?! A single Shaymin could flatten an entire forest?! All by themselves?! He realized that they had power, but nothing like that!

Together, Skye, Satoshi, and Shigeru turned to face Shaymin with shocked expressions. The little Grass type tilted their head upwards. "You should be grateful to me."

"Grateful dat yae didnae blow us up?" Skye muttered, sweat collecting on his brow. _Ah guess we ir. . ?_

Satoshi stepped forward, scowling down at them. "You should be the one grateful to us!" He yelled. "We're the ones who carried you here to the Pokémon Centre!"

"I didn't ask you to." Shaymin said flatly, turning their head to yawn.

"WHAT?!" Satoshi slammed his hands onto the bed, causing it to shake. Skye jumped at the sudden loud noise. The trainer next to him flashed him an apologetic smile. The brunet shakily returned it. They were really getting to him, weren't they?

"But what's a Shaymin doing in a town like this," Nurse Joy pondered to herself.

"I didn't mean to come here," Shaymin said, standing up on the bed.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Shigeru lifted an eyebrow.

The small monster shook their head with a frown. "I was swept here and there, it was terrible."

"Swept? Like being swept away in wa-" The taller brunet started to ask, but Shaymin rudely spoke over him, their face turning serious.

"You guys need to take me to the flower field!" The trio gave each other confused looks, which prompted Shaymin to continue. "I have to go to the flower field!"

"Oh, it must be time for 'Flower Carrying'." Nurse Joy said happily.

"Flooer Carryin'?" Skye asked, putting his tupperware back into his bag.

"Yes, each season, Shaymin gather in a flower field somewhere, and migrate from there." She told them. "Because a new field of flowers grows where they land, it's called Shaymin's 'Flower Carrying'."

"We fly from the flower field." Shaymin finished smugly.

"You can fly?" Asked Satoshi, looking as if he didn't believe them.

The tiny Pocket Monster twirled around to face Skye, their eyes gleaming. "Skye understands. You can fly, right?"

"Fly? A-ah cannae fly." The oldest of the three said, astonished. Pika threw the smaller Pokémon a questioning look.

Shaymin stared at him. "You can't?"

Satoshi interjected as Pikachu hopped onto the bed to mirror his mother's expression. "Where did you even get that from? Besides, you haven't answered my question."

Shaymin obviously let his questions fly over their head, choosing to jump onto Satoshi's head instead. "That doesn't matter, I just need to get to the flower field." They thumped a paw against his head. "You guys can take me. You've got longer legs, so that'll make up not being able to fly."

"Could you get off my head, please?!" Satoshi growled, reaching up to grab the Gratitude Pokémon.

In retaliation, Shaymin jerked Satoshi's head to the side so violently, Skye was worried that they had given him whiplash. "Come on, let's go!"

"Didn't you say you could fly?" The youngest between them grunted, rubbing his neck.

Shaymin shifted slightly. "I can't right now."

"What's that mean?" He pouted.

There was a long pause as the three of them looked at each other in turn. They didn't know what to do or say. Skye gulped. There was an urgency behind Shaymin's words that made him awfully jittery. It made him feel that if they didn't help Shaymin, something bad was going to happen or if they did, something bad would happen _anyway_.

Skye rolled his stiff shoulders and let out a sigh. Okay, he'll resign them to their fate. "Dis Flooer Carryin' 'hing sounds important."

"It is very important," Shaymin assured.

"Wit dey you two 'hink?" He gazed at them to gauge their reactions. Shigeru seemed sceptical for a moment, but then he shrugged.

"I think we don't really have much of a choice. We always get ourselves into these situations somehow." He pointedly cast a glance in Satoshi's direction. "Or, rather, one of us is just a magnet for this sort of thing."

"Oi," Satoshi deadpanned.

"I-it's no like we hivnae done dis sort eh 'hing before," Skye continued, trying to sound convincing.

"Sounds like I'm outvoted here," the youngest exhaled. "all right, let's do it. We'll take you to the flower field, Shay-" he was cut off by the sound of his own stomach growling. "Uhh, but first. Can we get something to eat? We didn't get to eat our lunch because _someone_ ate it for us."

Shaymin frowned deeply, kicking against Satoshi's head. "We need to get to the flower field right away!"

"But I'm hungry. . ." Satoshi whined loudly, holding his stomach again.

"Eat later!"

"If we eat, then we'll have more energy." Shigeru reasoned. "And we fed you, so it would only be fair if we got something to eat too. We'll only take about an hour, tops."

Shaymin's green eyes narrowed in thought, then they huffed begrudgingly. "Fine, but be quick about it!"

* * *

The Pokémon Centre's lunch service had been over for a while when they asked Nurse Joy about it, but she thankfully made an exception for them since they had helped Shaymin. The trio had gotten their lunches, and had settled into a booth to eat.

Skye sat closest to the large wall-length windows, picking at his sandwiches. Satoshi sat next to him, wolfing down his sweet baked potatoe, while Shigeru quietly ate a ceaser salad opposite him. Their Pokémon sat in special Pokémon-sized seats, bowls of homemade Pokémon food in front of them. Shaymin had decided they were going to take a nap at the window next to Skye to take in the sun.

Skye couldn't eat. His stomach was churning in all the wrong ways, and he knew if he ate something, he would only upset it even more. He should eat something, but he couldn't. His nerves were buzzing with anxiety, but at least he hadn't went into a full panic attack for whatever reason that brought on this unease.

He had been doing good when it came to his panic attacks. Back when he started travelling with Satoshi, Takeshi, and Kasumi, there wasn't a moment were he wasn't on edge. Now, he only got them every once and a while. They were exhausting to go through, and he hated them.

"Skye? Aren't you going to eat your sandwiches?"

The breeder snapped out of his thoughts, and he turned his head to look at Satoshi. The trainer beside him frowned. Skye's eyes fell to his plate. He must have looked troubled.

"Are you not feeling good?" Satoshi swallowed his mouthful of food to speak more properly.

Skye shuffled nervously in his seat. "A-ah'm startin' tae 'hink dis wiz a bad idea. . ."

"Hey, come on." Satoshi gently chided, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on Skye's shoulder. "We're doing a good thing in getting Shaymin to the flower field. Don't feel bad about it, okay?"

"It's best if we take it as it comes," Shigeru told him, motioning his fork from side to side. "there's no benefit in worrying. We'll be fine."

"At least eat half of one of your sandwiches." Satoshi urged. "We know you'll feel even worse later on if you don't eat something."

At the end of the table, Pikachu and Pika squeaked sounds of encouragement. Skye felt awkward at having everyone staring at him, so he took a sip of his water to distract himself. Somehow, drinking never made his stomach worse.

"Aw right," Skye stuttered in a small voice.

Satoshi and Shigeru seemed to accept that, as they returned to eating their own lunches. The breeder inhaled to calm his nerves.

As he tentatively took a bite out of one of his sandwiches, he gazed down at Shaymin's sleeping form. Despite what Satoshi and Shigeru were telling him, Skye had a feeling that this trip wasn't going to be easy. He hoped his gut was wrong.

 _We hiv tae act nice towards dis guy. It'd jist make matters worse if Shaymin 'hinks we're jist gonnae fight wae dem da entire way. . ._


	3. The Supernatural

"Can we go now?!" Shaymin shouted through their telepathy after shaking the sleep out of their little white and green body. "We can't waste any more time!"

Satoshi turned to the small Pokémon after he put on his backpack. "You just woke up, we just had our lunch, and the first thing you want to do is rush?"

"Sounds like somedey ah know," Skye muttered loudly enough for Satoshi to hear as he lifted Pika off the table.

"Oh yeah, it does." Shigeru nodded, fixing his shirt collar.

The trainer felt his face flush as he heard Pikachu snicker under his breath, but he smiled. He was glad to see Skye was in the mood to make jokes after that near episode during lunch. Although, Shigeru didn't really need to join in.

Shaymin quickly skittered across the booth's seat to leap back onto Satoshi's head, much to Satoshi's annoyance. "Let's go, let's go!"

"All right, all right, calm down. We're going." Satoshi grumbled, leading the group out of the Pokémon Centre. He felt Shaymin jump a little when the automatic doors slid open. "Which way should we go?" He looked around the incline the Centre sat upon, staring out towards the town beyond.

They had been too caught up in getting Shaymin to the Pokémon Centre to actually take in the sights of the town they found themselves in. It was a nice looking town, but Satoshi couldn't get what all those mirror statue things were about. They were interesting, but he wasn't sure what their purpose was. Were they just a bunch of weird mirrors? Modern art was confusing.

While he looked around for the start of their little journey, Shaymin suddenly, and painfully, wretched his head to the left, then to the right. "That way! No, this way!"

Fuelled by the pain in the back of his neck, Satoshi snapped at the Pokémon on his head. "Which way?!"

"Aw right," Skye sighed, gesturing for Pika to climb up onto his shoulder as he reached up, and picked Shaymin off his friend's head. "which way should we be goin'?" He asked as he gently held the tiny Pokémon to his chest.

Satoshi wanted to huff. He didn't understand why Skye was tolerating Shaymin's behaviour. Normally, Skye would be the first to speak against someone with an attitude, especially if they were focusing that cheek on Satoshi. He was always first to Satoshi's defence! Now he's joining the other team? He's hurt, Skye, he's hurt.

Shaymin relaxed in the breeder's arms with a smile, their back suddenly burst into several pretty pink flowers, similar to the ones on both sides of their head. It almost looked as if Skye nearly dropped them as he, and the rest of the group, gasped in surprise. The hedgehog-like Pokémon hummed contently, the newly sprouted flowers giving off a pleasant scent.

"Full of surprises, aren't they." Shigeru peered at the flowers. "They almost look like a bouquet."

Shaymin lifted their head from the crook in Skye's arm to point a dainty paw. "That way!"

Satoshi placed his hands on his hips as Pikachu put himself up onto his usual perch that was his trainer's shoulder. "Are you sure?" He asked Shaymin disdainfully. "Do you even know which way 'this way' is?"

Shaymin snapped their head to scowl at him. "Sure I'm sure! Now, let's go!" They started to tug at the front of Skye's jacket.

"It's best to follow Shaymin's migratory instinct," Shigeru reasoned, beginning to walk in the direction Shaymin had pointed. "it's better than just going blind and getting ourselves lost."

As they started to walk down the path to the bottom of the incline, a slight chill ran down Satoshi's spine. He felt as if they were being watched, and he was sure he saw some movement at the corner of his vision. He glanced at Pikachu, seeing his partner's ears twitch and swivel around.

It had to be the Rocket Gang, he decided. They were never far behind him and his friends, after all.

Shaymin started to fuss in Skye's arms, letting out panicked squeaks. Skye tried to keep them calm, but Satoshi could see his face was starting to crease with anxiety. "It's coming!" Shaymin said in a high-pitched voice, the flowers on their back quickly receding.

"W-wit's comin'?" Skye asked meekly. Shaymin took in a loud breath to answer when the reflective surface of the closest mirror sculpture they were walking past started to ripple, as if it were like water. Before any one could comprehend what was happening, the surface tore itself open to reveal a dark, almost angry, portal within.

From that portal, an almost whirlwind-like force reached out and snatched Skye, Shaymin, and Pika up. Without thinking, Satoshi quickly rushed forward and leapt into the swirling dark vortex after them.

* * *

All at once, Satoshi was wrong. His entire being felt wrong; it felt as if the portal had collapsed into itself as soon as he jumped in. Everything was spinning and crashing together. There was a darkness surrounding him that seeped into his mind, twisting and overwhelming his thoughts with anger and confusion. He couldn't breath, everything was so suffocating.

Then, as fast as it came, it was gone. Satoshi blinked, reeling from whatever just happened. His head thumped painfully as the portal spat him out. His stomach dropped as soon as he saw the bottomless expanse below his feet. The trainer flailed as he started to. . .drift? He wasn't falling?

Actually he was, but very slowly. It was like he had no weight to him any more. Pikachu clung to his shoulder, letting out confused squeaks as they lazily fell. Skye was further down, also slowly falling, with Shaymin still in his arms with Pika at his heels. Ignoring the growing nausea, Satoshi kicked at the air to get to them.

 _What happened to the gravity? It's like we've went to the moon! Wait, we're not on the moon, are we? The moon doesn't have all this weird stuff on it, does it?!_

It took some effort, but just as they landed onto an oddly placed chunk of earth, Satoshi grabbed Skye by the arm and hood, holding onto him as they clumsily stumbled from the strange gravity change. He turned to look up to the disappearing portal to see if Shigeru had followed behind them. He hadn't.

Satoshi quickly eyed the breeder and the two Pokémon with him to see if they were all right. Skye was staring wide-eyed at their dark surroundings, which drew Satoshi's attention to look around. Tall buildings were upside down, landmasses of all sorts were scattered all around, and pillars of stone and ice shot up from the abyss underneath it all. The sky was splashed with dark, dull colours that rippled unnaturally together. The air was thick and it held a sense of foreboding. Something was very wrong about this place. There was a stagnant fog. It was light, but it collected further out; like it was concealing some sort of evil within it. This world wasn't right.

Skye gripped onto Satoshi's arm. The trainer took a step closer to him. "I know, Skye. I don't like this either."

"I don't like it neither," Shaymin nervously agreed. "I need to get out of here."

"Yeah," Satoshi breathed, looking back up at where the portal had once been. "at least Shigeru didn't get dragged in here with us. Hopefully, he's out there looking for a way to get us out. We can all ways count on him for these sort of things."

Skye didn't answer him, nor did he move an inch when Satoshi tried to stir a response out of him. Satoshi looked at him, concerned. He gulped. ". . .Skye?" He stared out, down what would be described as a street ahead of them. Had the shock gotten to him? His eyes didn't seem right.

Before Satoshi could ask him if he was okay, an enormous creature shot out from the darkness to fly over their heads and upside down buildings. The both of them staggered backwards after being pushed by a strong gust of wind the monstrosity stirred up. Skye would have tripped if Satoshi and Pika didn't help him stay on his feet.

Satoshi watched as the serpent-like Pokémon looped around and stopped in mid air to glare down at them with menacing red eyes. They let out a earth-shattering scream, making Shaymin squeal in terror and shake like a leaf.

"They want to eat me!"

Skye started to shake, but not with fear, but with laughter. Satoshi was stunned as his friend started to snicker, then quickly burst out into wild cackling. The sound made a chill crawl up Satoshi's spine.

"Chu-chu!" Pika cried, pulling at her trainer's trouser leg .

"Skye!" Satoshi's free hand reached out to grasp onto Skye's other arm to force the older teen to face him. "What's wrong?!" He had seen Skye break down before, but he had never seen one as bad as this. He was so out of it. He glanced back to see the black and red striped monster coming straight for them. He had to get Skye out of here before he can figure out what's happening to him.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" His best friend nodded, and leapt off his shoulder to send a warning shot of lightning towards the Pokémon. Pika jumped in to join her son, her bolt of lightning striking the flying monster's jaw as it suddenly changed direction. She landed beside her son, hissing and spitting in fury.

Deciding that they had to run away before anything else, Satoshi ran towards the edge of the tiny island, tugging a still laughing Skye with him. He stood at the edge, looking down at the darkness between the landmasses. He wanted to jump down to the paved street down below, but he wasn't sure if Skye would be able to follow in his condition. He knew they couldn't stay here, that was for sure.

Skye's fingers dug painfully into Satoshi's arm as he tilted his head back and howled with deranged laughter. Satoshi gritted his teeth. He had to take the chance.

"Pikachu, Pika!" He called over his shoulder to the two Electric types as he wrapped his arms around a wriggling Skye. Their Pokémon rallied to their sides, and he jumped.

Thankfully, they landed onto the lower ground without trouble. Skye had shifted from laughing to mumbling swears to an invisible enemy. If Skye wasn't completely out of his mind, Satoshi would have told him to mind his language.

Above their heads, the Pokémon screeched and started to quickly approach them again. Pikachu and Pika stood in from of Satoshi, cheeks sparking threateningly. Satoshi tightened his grip around Skye's shoulders, reaching for his belt for one of his Pokémon.

"Hey, stop that right this instant!"

As if out of nowhere, a skinny man climbed up out of a large crack in the pavement, a Tatetops at his heels. He was tall, but his face was gaunt, and his clothes tattered and worn. This guy clearly hadn't had a good meal -or bath- in a long while.

"Don't upset Giratina!" He said, slowly running up to them.

Satoshi took a step back, surprised to see someone else in this dark place. "Wa- Giratina?" Was that what the Pokémon's name was? He never heard of them before in his life. Maybe Skye would have if he wasn't completely out of it.

Giratina reared up, collecting, then released a ball of bright blue fire. The man's Tatetops shot their own attack, an Ice Beam, hitting and detonating the fireball mid flight, turning both attacks into a thick plume of smoke.

The malnourished man turned and headed into what seemed to be a corridor. "This way, you two!"

Satoshi hesitated for a moment, but he nodded and followed. Running was difficult, especially with Skye fighting against him every stride. Satoshi did his best to keep his friend from falling into one of the several glowing holes in the floorboards.

Pika trailed behind, still hissing loudly as Giratina flew past the entrance to the corridor. Satoshi had rarely seen her act so out of character, but he wasn't surprised by it either. Whenever Skye was vulnerable -or even more vulnerable than usual- Pika would shift into an enraged ball of thunder.

It was almost fascinating to watch such a calm and peaceful Pokémon turn into fury incarnate. She might not be battle legal, but she wasn't shy in protecting her trainer by any means necessary. Even against something as big as Giratina.

Shaymin had managed to wriggle out of Skye's weakening grasp. They clung onto the brunet's shoulder while he continued to resist Satoshi's urging to move forward.

The man continued to lead them through the corridor until they reached a set of stone stairs that led down to another island. "Be careful," the man warned. "the gravity gets stronger at the top of the stairs."

Just as he said that, Satoshi stepped into it. He yelled in surprise as his body got all of it's weight back. Beside him, Skye didn't seem to notice -or care- that the change even happened. Instead, he was muttering, "Der's a boulduh blockin' da way oot!"

Satoshi looked at the stairs warily. It was a miracle that Skye didn't get himself stuck in any of the eerie glowing holes, but this? There was nothing that would keep Skye from falling off the side, and there wasn't much space for Satoshi to keep him on track.

He needed more help. He wasn't sure if he could trust the stranger with Skye's safety, so he reached for a Pokéball on Skye's belt. He hoped that whoever he brought out, they'd be able to help their trainer. The man, now at the bottom of the stairs with his Tatetops, watched the Pokéball crack open to reveal Skye's Blacky.

"Moon, can you use Psychic to keep a hold on Skye? He isn't doing so good."

"What's going on up there?" The man questioned, his hands on his hips. "You two are coming, aren't you? Giratina might find you if you hang around here."

"My friend is acting weird!" Satoshi explained as Moon's Psychic enveloped Skye in a blue aura. "He's been acting funny since we got here!"

"Oh, that'd be the distortion sickness!" The stranger replied, walking over to a large split in the wall of the nearest building.

"Distortion sickness?" Satoshi echoed as the group eased their way down the stairs. "What do you mean, 'distortion sickness'?"

"I'll explain later!"

After they finally made it down the stairs, Satoshi helped Skye through the split in the wall, then when everyone else had squeezed through, they continued to follow the man. It looked like the building had to have been a hotel or some sort of large house, but the interior was completely warped. Just looking at it was unsettling.

"In here," the man said, opening a door to a rather ordinary looking hotel room. "nice and cosy." With Moon's help, Satoshi eased Skye down to sit on the bed. He had calmed down, but his eyes were darting about nervously. Pika and Pikachu hopped up onto the bed as Moon sat himself at Skye's feet, his Psychic still carefully wrapped around the brunet.

"Ir da trees gonnae bloom in time?" Skye asked no one in particular. "W-we need dem tae protect us. . !"

Shaymin jumped from his shoulder to sit on his lap, giving him a look. "Don't you mean flowers? Well, if we make it to the flower field on time, yes!"

"Be quiet, Shaymin!" Satoshi snapped, glaring at the small Pokémon. He turned to the man when Shaymin lowered their head. "Who are you anyway? And what's distortion sickness?"

"Whoa now, let's not get heated here." The man said, lifting his hands up defensively. "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Mugen Graceland, and I've been researching the Reverse World and all that comes with it. And that includes distortion sickness."

"What's distortion sickness?" Satoshi asked again.

"It's something that happens to everyone that comes here. I believe that it has something to do with the abrupt gravity shifts that is the nature of this place. It's almost like a psychological version of the bends." Mugan explained. "Didn't you feel strange when you came here?"

"Uh, yeah." Satoshi nodded, sitting down beside Skye on the bed. "It felt like my head was going to explode, but it went away after a moment. My head still hurts though. . .but, I wasn't like this." He said, sadly glancing at Skye.

"Usually, it only lasts for a second or two." Mugen paused. "Err, your friend there, does he have any mental illnesses?"

Satoshi was taken aback and his nose wrinkled disapprovingly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't take it the wrong way!" Mugen weakly laughed. "Your body reacts negatively to the distortion, and if your body has any weaknesses, like having a mental illness, the distortion has it's grip on you for longer and causes you to act like your friend is acting right now. In fact, my old assistant had OCD, and his distortion sickness was terrible!"

Satoshi slowly blinked, trying to process Mugen's explanation. He turned to look at Skye, who was blankly staring at the stained floor. Pika chirped lowly, pressing her head into her trainer's side. Moon's golden eyes were filled with worry as he gazed up at his trainer's face. Shaymin sat on Skye's lap, uncharacteristically quiet.

Mugen had been right when he had guessed Skye had a mental illness. In fact, he had two; depression and anxiety. Not a fun combination from what Satoshi had seen over the years they've known each other. He was worried that the fallout for this was going to be hard on Skye, especially when he realizes that they were in a hostile environment. If. . .he snaps out of distortion sickness at all.

The trainer gently placed a hand on the brunet's shoulder to give it a little squeeze. "He. . .he's going to be okay, isn't he?" He asked Mugen.

The ragged man smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry, distortion sickness might be very intense, but it doesn't last long. Your friend should be back to normal in the next couple minutes." Despite the good news, the oppressive atmosphere in the room didn't lessen.

Satoshi wanted to ask Mugen more questions, like what Giratina was exactly, but he decided to keep quiet as he wanted Skye to hear what Mugen had to say. He definitely deserved answers after this whole distortion mess.

Skye's head slowly lifted up as if he had heard Satoshi's thoughts. He blinked several times before looking around the warped hotel room.

"Skye?" Satoshi asked cautiously.

The breeder took a second to turn his head to stare at him. His green eyes focused on his face, then they narrowed as recognition sparked in them. ". . .S-satoshi?"

Satoshi couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Heh, yeah, that's me!" He chuckled as his shoulders sagged with relief.

"Chu-chu!" Pika squeaked happily, jumping up to lovingly nuzzle under her trainer's chin. Skye meekly smiled at his Pokémon's actions as Moon released him from his Psychic.

"How do you feel?" Satoshi questioned.

". . .u-uh, ah dunno. . ." Skye reached up to run a shaky hand through his short brown hair. "W-wit-"

"What do you remember?" The trainer pressed. He wanted to keep his questions short and to the point for now. He didn't want to ask Skye any harder questions in case it caused him mental strain.

"A-ah 'hink we goat sucked intae a hole 'r somemuh. . ." Skye muttered, his nervousness causing his voice to waver. "W-where's Shigeru?"

"Not here, that's for sure. He didn't get sucked in with us."

"Oh. . ." Skye said, his fingers gently working between Pika's ears. His eyes scanned the group surrounding him, then he asked Satoshi. "Ir yae awright?"

"Fascinating, I never thought distortion sickness could change one's voice like that!" Mugen suddenly butted in, scaring Skye as if he hadn't noticed Mugen in the room with them.

Satoshi frowned at the skinny man. "His voice is _fine_. He has an accent, that's all."

"Huh! Never heard an accent like that before." Mugen said with a smile. "How can you understand him?"

Satoshi was ready to tell Mugen off the comment, but Skye shakily interrupted. "C-cin ah hiv a wee minute t-tae masel'. . ?" Skye's entire body had started to shake and his eyes had widened. He was going into an anxiety attack, a bad one from the looks of it.

Pika stood to attention, quickly nosing Shaymin off Skye's lap so that she could start performing her job as his emotional support Pokémon. Pika made space for the tiny Grass type on the bed by hopping up onto Satoshi's shoulder.

The Masara Town trainer moved his hand from Skye's shoulder to the other's back to give it a brief run before he got up. "Sure, Skye. We'll be right outside if you need us, okay?" He said, pointedly eyeing the door at Mugen.

The breeder curtly nodded absent-mindedly as Pika kneaded her paws into his stomach.

Shaymin hopped off the bed, and followed Satoshi and Mugen out of the room. ". . .what's wrong with him now?" They shakily asked after Satoshi closed the door behind them.

"It's nothing Skye can't handle," he told them. "he just needs a minute to get his bearings." He and Pikachu stared out the large, opening in the outer wall that should have been a small balcony to see nothing but more chaotic buildings. Satoshi turned away. The hotel's bowed interior didn't make him feel as queasy.

"Hold on," Mugen crouched down to get a better look at Shaymin, who quickly skittered to hide behind Satoshi's leg. "aren't you the Shaymin from yesterday?"

"From yesterday?" The teen asked, looking down at the Grass type at his feet. "You've been here before?"

"Pika?" Pikachu added.

Shaymin huffed up at him. "I don't know; I just know I nearly got eaten by a big black and red monster recently, and I nearly got eaten today too!"

"Well, I'm not sure about t-" the tattered man paused, then stood back up. "how about we wait for your friend to come out before I continue, hm? He must be very confused by all this as much as you are, if not more." Satoshi nodded in agreement.

And so, they waited.

Shaymin stiffly paced around Satoshi's feet, their gaze glued to the warped balcony as if they were waiting on something to happen. Satoshi glanced at the balcony every once and a while also, hoping not to see Giratina glaring back.

It wasn't long until the bowed door opened, and Skye gingerly stepped out with Pika on his shoulder, and Moon and Mugen's Tatetops at his heels. His wet eyes went wide as he finally saw the state of the world they were sucked into for the first time.

"You doin' okay?" Satoshi asked gently.

"A-ah guess," Skye said in a meek voice. "ah'll be bettuh when we g-git oot eh here." He took in a steadying breath. "W-witevuh dis place is. . ."

"It's called the, uh-" Satoshi tried to remember what Mugen had called it, but he couldn't find the right word. He looked to Mugen. "What's it called again?"

"I'm glad you asked! Allow me to explain!" Mugen chimed, straightening up and enthusiastically gesturing to the warped reality around them. "This place has no official name, but many have called it the Reverse World. For others, the Distortion or Other World.

This is a dimension that parallels the real world, hence why everything about this place is warped or unclear, like everything is being seen through a mirror. Gravity works completely different than it does back in the real world, as you experienced earlier."

"U-uhm, w-wit?" Skye mumbled after picking up Shaymin, but his confusion wasn't picked up by Mugen as he went on about how different the Reverse World was to the real world. The breeder looked anxiously at Satoshi. "W-who is dis guy, anyway. . ?"

"'Mugen Graceland' is what he told me," Satoshi muttered back.

"It's a broken world were rules are broken!" Mugen went on excitedly. "The two worlds exist side-by-side, but they never cross into each other. Only Giratina has the power to come and go between here and the real world, and she's the only living creature who resides here. Apart from myself and Tatetops, of course."

Skye slowly raised his hand, as if he were asking for a teacher's attention. "Mr Graceland?"

"Call me Mugen, son."

". . .Mr Graceland, did yae jist say _Giratina_?" The brunet pronounced the name with disbelief in his voice.

"And they're a _girl_?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mugen answered Satoshi bluntly.

"Uh, yes?" Satoshi said, baffled. Was it obvious to tell Giratina was female? He had no idea.

"But, you-" Mugen turned to Skye. "know about Giratina?" Mugen sounded surprised that Skye would know about the Reverse World's 'only' occupant. That was Skye for you. He always somehow knew something.

Skye stammered nervously, avoiding making eye contact with the man as he became the centre of attention all of a sudden. "U-uh, jist a wee bit."

"Like what?" Mugen pressed with growing interest.

"Yeah, like what?!" Shaymin shrilled, impatiently thumping a paw against Skye's arm. From his shoulder, Pika chided the smaller Pokémon as Skye answered.

"N-no dat much, s-sir. Aw ah know is da name 'n some eh da legends surroundin' 'er 'n dat's aboot it. . .sorry. . ."

Mugen almost looked disappointed that Skye had nothing remarkable to say, but he quickly rebounded. "Well, I suppose that the both of you don't want to stay here for tea, then."

The two teens shook their heads.

"I have to go to the flower field right away!" Shaymin cried.

"Then we can't just stand around." The unwashed man pressed the button on the strap to his large backpack, prompting a small robotic arm to extend out the side of it. He read something on the small device attached to the robot arm and he smiled. "Ah, we can still make it in time if we rush." He turned and quickly started heading down the bowed corridor. "Hop to it, boys!"

"Make it on time for what?" Satoshi called after him as he and Skye trailed after him.

"For your way back home! Sometimes, portals that lead back to the real world will pop up, but they disappear just as fast as they show up, so we must hurry to the nearest one before it fades!" After that answer, the two quickened their step.

As they followed behind Mugen through and out of the hotel into new, distorted territory, Satoshi nudged an astonished Skye with his elbow to get his attention. Mugen didn't seem too interested in what Skye had to say about Giratina, but Satoshi wanted to know anything and everything about this Pokémon in the probability that they would encounter her again.

"What sort of things do you know about Giratina?"

"N-no dat much, like ah sayd." Skye replied lowly.

"Still more than nothing," Satoshi encouraged. "I'd like to know."

"Me too!" Shaymin said loudly from Skye's arms. "I want to know why she wants to eat me!"

Skye didn't answer at first, but after giving their surroundings a cautious look, he sighed. "Ah c-cannae remembuh everythin' ah read aboot, b-bit der wiz somethin' aboot 'er bein' violent 'r somethin' like dat. . ."

Satoshi gulped. "She's known to be violent? When you were out of it, she did attack us." He nervously chuckled when he saw panic flash in Skye's eyes. "Don't worry, as long as we don't run into her again, I think we'll be fine."

Skye gave the imposing world another anxious look. "J-jeez, it's like we've w-went doon da Nidoran hole. . ." he said almost jokingly.

Satoshi looked down at the floating pathway they were trotting across towards places unknown, the abyss below yawning wide at him. "Yeah, this place is crazy. Mugen was right when he said this place didn't have any rules. Shigeru would have a field day in here!"

Skye gave him a grunt in response, falling silent until his face darkened. "S-satoshi, wit happened tae me?"

The fear in his voice made Satoshi's throat constrict. He reached out to reassuringly hold onto Skye's arm before he answered. "Mugen said you were suffering from something he called 'distortion sickness', it happens because our bodies and minds are reacting badly to gravitational shifts or something along those lines."

Skye's green, bloodshot eyes went as wide as saucers as he yelped. "Aw eh yeez went through dat tae?!"

"No, I didn't!" Satoshi squeaked. "You got it the worst. All I got was a thumping headache, eh heh." He did feel like Skye deserved to know why he was the one who suffered, but Satoshi felt like it wasn't the right time to do so yet. He knew he would tell Skye everything, but only after they got out of here and Skye was in a safer state of mind.

Skye's expression softened as Pika cooed and nuzzled her cheek into his. "G-good, becuz it-" he tucked his chin into his scarf. "it wiz horrible. A-ah could see 'n hear 'hings dat ah'm only used tae seein'n in ma nightmares. A-ah'm glad yae wirnae put through dat. . ."

The agony in Skye's gaze made a chill go down Satoshi's spine. He hoped that once they leave, they don't need to ever come back.

A couple of steps in front of them, Mugen held out his arm to bring the small group to a stop. In front of them, a thick, dark purple cloud lazily floated. The two trainers warily eyed the cloud.

"This world has a purpose. It exists so that when a disturbance happens in the real world, it keeps everything in the space-time continuum from falling apart. When a disturbance occurs, these clouds are formed."

He tensed as the cloud slowly passed them by. "It's best you keep away from these clouds. They're toxic if you breathe it in, and it could possibly kill you, if you're not careful." Satoshi didn't want to know how Mugen came to find out that out.

When they were clear to pass and continue on their way, Mugen continued to talk. "A while ago, space and time, two entities that should have never met, collided and crashed together, and they started to fight."

Satoshi and Skye looked at each other, the both of them coming to the same realization that they knew _exactly_ what he was talking about. Time and Space. Dialga and Palkia.

"Alamos Town," Satoshi breathed.

They had been there, them and Shigeru, right in the thick of it. They were all part of the reason the world didn't come to an end that day.

Skye shuddered. During their time in Alamos Town, Skye almost faded from existence entirely when Palkia melded so many dimensions together to hide from Dialga.

"Time and space mixed together, and miasma started to form in large bursts." Mugen went on, pointing up towards a newly formed dark cloud several feet above their heads. "Giratina became furious at Dialga and Palkia, as they had terribly polluted her world. She managed to capture Dialga when they appeared in the real world only yesterday.

But somehow, Giratina must have dragged Shaymin into the Reverse World alongside Dialga, because Dialga managed to escape thanks to their Seed Flare."

"So, Giratina is upset wae Shaymin?" Skye cocked his head to the side.

"She's angry," Mugen concluded with a smirk.

Shaymin turned their head away with a loud snort. "She's nothing but angry."

"Ah widnae like it if somewan came oot eh naewhere 'n befuddled ma vengeance plot." Skye mumbled under his breath.

Shaymin glared up at Skye, gasping almost dramatically. "Are you saying it's okay for her to want to eat me?!"

Skye could only give the small Grass type a forced, awkward smile. "A-ah'm no tryin' tae offend yae, Shaymin. It's j-jist dat Pokémon eat uhduh Pokémon. It's natural!"

"If she can go this long without eating another Pokémon, she doesn't need to eat me!"

Mugen rolled his eyes, and continued on. "On top of Shaymin's Seed Flare, Dialga has somehow rendered Giratina unable to go into the real world."

"It's punishment for being so angry, and for wanting to eat me." Shaymin huffed.

As Mugen slowed to fiddle with the small gadget attached to his bag, a large, innocent-looking bubble drifted towards them. Satoshi tried to pay it no mind until he saw that it's reflection showed the image of a currently absent brunet.

"Hey, it's Shigeru!" He exclaimed. Shigeru was in front of the same statue, his face intense as he ran a hand across it's surface. Satoshi was glad to get confirmation that Shigeru hadn't gotten sucked into the Reverse World with him and Skye.

Skye shuffled closer to the bubble to see the image more clearly. "Cin he hear us?" Pikachu and Moon raised their voices for the last of their group to hear.

"Pika pikachu!"

"Blacky!"

"Shigeru! Can you hear us?" Satoshi said, reaching out for the bubble.

"Don't touch that!" Mugen barked out a little too late. Satoshi's hand brushed it, making it burst. Skye jumped with a yelp, gripping Shaymin tightly.

Mugen motioned for them to keep walking as he scolded them. "Anything you do here can have effects on the real world. If you pop a bubble, you could end up causing harm to something, or someone, in the real world."

Satoshi felt a lump grow in the back of his throat. He didn't end up hurting Shigeru, did he?

"I'm sure he's fine, unless he was directly in the warp, which I'm sure he wasn't." Mugen told him as he nonchalantly hopped over a large gap in the pavement, his weight suddenly becoming meaningless. "Gravity is going to get weird here." He said matter-of-factly as his Tatetops followed his example.

"Whoa," Skye's eyes brightened before he took a tentative step into the low gravity. He gasped to himself when his foot slowly met the ground. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he took another floaty step. Pikachu jumped off Satoshi's shoulder to gently beside Moon, who slowly lifted his paws just to let them gradually land back down.

 _If this place wasn't giving me the creeps and that we weren't running away from a huge, angry Pokémon that might want to kill us, this gravity stuff could be fun._ The black-haired trainer thought as he waded into the low gravity.

"Come on, your way out of here is up ahead." Mugen pointed out.

Looking past the ragged man, Satoshi could see a rip in the fabric of space at the end of the pathway. It looked large enough for him and Skye to jump into. Relief fuelled his movements as he and Skye half ran, half floated, towards it.

The relief was short lived, however, as an ear-splitting cry ran out.

A shrill cry rang out, and Satoshi could only watch as Giratina flew under the connecting islands they were walking on, her long body streaming through several toxic clouds with ease.

On Skye's shoulder, Pika started to growl and spit at the large serpent-like Pokémon, her cheeks sparking wildly. "Piii. . ."

"Blacky!" Moon jumped to be in front of the group, putting himself between everyone and Giratina with his teeth bared and tail bushy. Pikachu joined in beside him, electricity crackling along his fur.

Giratina shrieked, her strong body coiling together before she shot forward like a bullet.

Shaymin panicked. They forced their way out of Skye's arms to make a leap for Satoshi's head. "Run away!"

"W-wha- hold on!" Satoshi yelped in surprise as Shaymin clung onto his head for dear life. With his heart in his mouth, he turned to make a break for the portal, but he ended up tripping over his own feet. He flailed as he staggered, then he fell flat on his stomach, Giratina just narrowly missing his head as she flew over him.

"Satoshi!" Skye's voice cracked when he screamed.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried, racing over to his trainer as best he could in the low gravity.

Satoshi groaned as he lifted himself off the floor, his hat on the ground in front of him. He gave Pikachu a reassuring smile as the mouse-like Pokémon chirped worriedly at him.

Shaymin was nowhere to be seen. He quickly put two and two together, and he shouted out, "Oh no! Shaymin!"

"W-wit's wrang?" Skye stammered after he managed to get to Satoshi's side alongside Pikachu, his grip forceful as he helped the younger teen to his feet.

"Giratina's got Shaymin!" Satoshi pointed up towards the huge flying Pokémon, who had the tiny Legendary tightly in her mandibles. "We got to help them!"

The trainer reached for his belt to retrieve Lizardon's Pokéball to do just that, but Satoshi's hat shifted, then turned over to reveal an unharmed and definitely not captured Shaymin.

"Stop shouting and get me out of here!" They exclaimed after shaking out their fur.

Satoshi and Skye stared at the Grass type in surprise, then returned their eyes to Giratina. The 'Shaymin' in Giratina's grasp shimmered and dissipated into pink flower petals, causing Giratina to shrill loudly.

"Wiz dat a S-substitute?" Skye asked as he shakily picked up Shaymin and Satoshi's hat. Pika hopped onto her trainer's shoulder, but she kept a very watchful eye on the serpent-like Pokémon overhead.

"That's a pretty nice move you've got there," Mugen praised as they started for the portal again.

Shaymin stuck their nose up at him. "Flattery won't get you nowhere."

Mugen raised an eyebrow, but he didn't continue as they finally reached the rip in the dimensional wall. "Nothing can get in through here, but all of you should be able to get out."

Satoshi and Skye stood in front of the portal, the both of them hesitating as they stared deep into the darkness inside.

"Aren't you coming too?" Satoshi asked the older man.

"I still have research to do here." Mugen shrugged, not seeming to care that Giratina was circling them above their heads. "Giratina can see into the real world through reflective surfaces, so you got to watch out for mirrors when you get back.

Now hurry, or you won't make it out."

Not letting the two boys spend any more time deciding on what to do, Mugen grabbed them by the shoulders and shoved them into the tear, his Tatetops tackling Moon and Pikachu into it behind them.


End file.
